Timeline of Earth-1 (prehistory to 18th century)

13.8 billion years ago

The universe is created in the Big Bang.

10 billion years ago

The ancestors of the Oans (proto-Oans) are born on the planet Maltus, where they develop incredible psychokinetic abilities.

The Monitor is born on Oa's moon after its creation. He spends his life in silent meditation, learning the secrets of the universe. Meanwhile, the Anti-Monitor is born on the moon of Qward after its creation in the antimatter universe. The Anti-Monitor grows powerful and easily takes control of Qward, creating an army of Thunderers, then formed an elite personal guard from the Thunderers called the Shadow Demons. The Anti-Monitor spreads his reign of terror throughout the antimatter universe. Note: The text claims that the Anti-Monitor and the Monitor were created as a result of Krona's actions, but this can only mean that Krona's actions affected the distant past in addition to the present. [Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

9 billion years ago

The Anti-Monitor becomes aware of the Monitor, his other self in the positive-matter universe of Earth-1. They begin a war that lasts one million years, waged with equal power, in which neither could be the victor. [Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

After one million years, the war between the Anti-Monitor and the Monitor ends with a draw, when a simultaneous attack renders them both immobile and unconscious for over nine billion years. [Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

5 billion years ago

The proto-Oans gain immortality.

4.5 billion years ago

The sun and the solar system are formed.

The planet Earth is formed.

The Moon is formed from fragments of a collision between the Earth and a planetoid. Within a few million years, tidal locking causes one side of the Moon to face Earth permanently.

4 billion years ago

On Maltus, a proto-Oan named Krona looses evil on the universe by attempting to view the origin of the universe using a time-viewer. The forbidden experiment, affecting the past, creates the antimatter universe as well as splintering the single universe into a multiverse consisting of countless parallel universes, each with duplicates of all stars and planets except for the planet Oa, which is only duplicated in the antimatter universe as the planet Qward. The energies resulting from this also paradoxically cause the creation of the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor in the distant past. Krona is reduced to disembodied energy and banished to circle throughout the universe. [Green Lantern v2 #40; Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

3.9 billion years ago:

A cataclysmic bombardment of meteors strikes the Earth and scars the Moon. Earth's atmosphere becomes mostly carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and ammonia.

3.8 billion years ago:

The surface of the Earth cools, changing from molten to solid rock.

3.5 billion years ago:

The proto-Oans migrate to the planet Oa in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy and create the Manhunters to police the universe.

Monocellular life is formed on Earth.

3 billion years ago

The Oans abandon the robotic Manhunters in favor of a police organization composed of humanoid agents, equipping them with spaceships and ray-guns energized by power batteries. Note: This proto-Green Lantern Corps is never named, but only pictured. It is possible that this original intergalactic police organization served as the basis for several other such organizations in the centuries to follow, such as the Interplanetary Vigilantes and the Intergalactic Patrol. [“Those Who Worship Evil's Might,” Green Lantern v2 #90 (August-September, 1976)]

A civil war on Oa arising from a disagreement on how to combat evil in the universe causes half the population of Oa to leave for another dimension, where they eventually become the Controllers. [Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

The Earth's sun brightens to 80% of its current level.

2.5 billion years ago:

The female Oans leave Oa and eventually become the Zamorans. The Zamorans begin the tradition of choosing as their queen a mortal woman whom they give a powerful gemstone to become the Star Sapphire.

2.4 billion years ago:

The Earth's sun is red at this time, possibly because of cosmic interference. [“Neverwas, the Chaos-Maker,” Justice League of America #68 (December, 1968)]

Neverwas, a protoplasmic, amoeba-like being, comes into being, possessing strange powers and fearing other creatures. It somehow travels through time to the age of the pterodactyl, then ends up in the 20th century, before the Justice League of America returns it to its original era, along with a giant toy robot to keep it company. [“Neverwas, the Chaos-Maker,” Justice League of America #68 (December, 1968)]

The Huronian Ice Age begins on Earth, lasting 300 million years.

1.1 billion years ago:

The supercontinent Rodinia forms on Earth.

1 billion years ago

Three powerful, evil beings named Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast, together known as the Demons Three, rule the primitive Earth. [“The Fantastic Fingers of Felix Faust,” Justice League of America #10 (March, 1962)]

The Timeless Ones, a powerful beneficent race of blue-skinned, mentally powerful beings, capture the Demons Three and imprison them in vast chambers under ice, sand, and water. But before the Demons Three are overwhelmed by the Timeless Ones, they create the Red Jar of Calythos, the Green Bell of Uthool, and the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath with which to eventually free them from any spell used to bind them. The Demons Three languish in their prisons for close to a billion years, until Felix Faust attempts to free them in 1975 AD. Note: It is possible that the Timeless Ones are Oans, either the Guardians of the Universe or the Controllers before they evolved into their current forms, or perhaps the Lords of Order. [“The Fantastic Fingers of Felix Faust,” Justice League of America #10 (March, 1962)]

Multicellular organisms appear on Earth.

750 million years ago:

On Earth, the continent Rodinia breaks up, and the supercontinent Pannotia forms.

650 million years ago:

A mass extinction of 70% of dominant sea plants occurs on Earth because of global glaciation.

580 million years ago:

Soft-bodied organisms develop on Earth: the jellyfish, tribrachidium, and dickinsonia.

550 million years ago:

On Earth the continent Pannotia is fragmented into the continents Laurasia and Gondwana.

Paleozoic Era

542 million years ago:

The Paleozoic Era begins on Earth, heralding the arrival of complex life, such as land plants and trees, insects, amphibians, and reptiles.

443 million years ago:

Ordovician–Silurian extinction event: Two events occur that kill off 27% of all families, 57% of all genera, and 60% to 70% of all species.

359 million years ago:

Late Devonian extinction: A prolonged series of extinctions eliminate about 19% of all families, 50% of all genera, and 70% of all species. This extinction event lasts perhaps as long as 20 million years, and there is evidence for a series of extinction pulses within this period.

275 million years ago:

The supercontinent Pangaea forms on Earth.

Mesozoic Era

250 million years ago:

The Xan, a race of tall, handsome humans from another planet, establish a super-civilization on Earth, living in sky-cities built by advanced science. As expert builders of robots and androids, their crowning achievement is Eterno, a nearly 50-foot-tall half-robot, half-android constructed to live forever, energized by cosmic radiation, and given the complete knowledge of the Xan in his artificial brain. Although Eterno was incredibly wise and powerful, he planned to conquer Earth for himself. Before he could do so, a cloud of space gas drifted to Earth that the Xan knew could kill them off. Eterno traveled to the earth's core to find absorbium, the only element that could combat the space gas, but the absorbium caused Eterno to become paralyzed for a billion years until he is temporarily freed in the year 1977 AD by the Superman Revenge Squad. Meanwhile, the cloud of space gas causes Earth's largest mass extinction, the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Note: The Xan are said to have lived about a billion years ago, but it is more likely that the mass extinction that killed them off is a known event, which must be somewhat more recent. [“Eterno the Immortal,” Action Comics #343 (November, 1966)]

Permian–Triassic extinction event: Earth's largest extinction kills 57% of all families, 83% of all genera, and 90% to 96% of all species (53% of marine families, 84% of marine genera, about 96% of all marine species, and an estimated 70% of land species, including insects). The “Great Dying” has enormous evolutionary significance: on land, it ends the primacy of mammal-like reptiles. The recovery of vertebrates takes 30 million years, but the vacant niches create the opportunity for archosaurs to become ascendant. In the seas, the percentage of animals that were sessile drop from 67% to 50%. The whole late Permian is a difficult time for at least marine life, even before the “Great Dying.”

The supercontinent Pangaea begins to break up on Earth.

Reptiles populate the land on Earth.

235 million years ago:

Dinosaurs begin to appear on Earth.

205 million years ago:

The first small mammals appear on Earth.

200 million years ago:

Triassic–Jurassic extinction event: About 23% of all families, 48% of all genera (20% of marine families and 55% of marine genera), and 70% to 75% of all species become extinct. Most non-dinosaurian archosaurs, most therapsids, and most of the large amphibians are eliminated, leaving dinosaurs with little terrestrial competition. Non-dinosaurian archosaurs continue to dominate aquatic environments, while non-archosaurian diapsids continue to dominate marine environments.

199 million years ago:

The Jurassic Period begins on Earth, and the dinosaurs rule the Earth.

180 million years ago:

North America separates from Africa.

150 million years ago:

Birds begin to appear on Earth. Pterodactyls thrive on Earth.

Neverwas uses strange powers to thrust itself into the 20th century to the year 1978 A.D., where it battles the Justice League of America. [“Neverwas, the Chaos-Maker,” Justice League of America #68 (December, 1968)]

120 million years ago:

A global warming event starts on Earth.

105 million years ago:

South America breaks away from Africa. The Atlantic Ocean begins to form.

90 million years ago:

A global warming event ends on Earth.

Cenozoic Era

65 million years ago:

Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event: A meteor impact in the Yucatan, Mexico, causes a mass extinction and ending the Mesozoic Era. About 17% of all families, 50% of all genera, and 75% of all species become extinct. In the seas it reduces the percentage of sessile animals to about 33%. The majority of non-avian dinosaurs become extinct during that time. The boundary event is severe, with a significant amount of variability in the rate of extinction between and among different clades. Mammals and birds emerge as dominant land vertebrates in the age of new life. Most of the dinosaurs are killed off, with only a remnant of dinosaurs survives in hidden lands, such as Skartaris and Dinosaur Island in the Pacific Ocean. The Cenozoic Era (which lasts into the present) begins.

45 million years ago:

Australia separates from Antarctica. Modern mammals appear on Earth.

34 million years ago:

Global cooling on Earth creates a permanent Antarctic ice sheet.

14 million years ago:

Antarctica separates from Australia and South America.

8 million years ago:

A race of metallic beings ruled by Katmos control the Earth. [“Conqueror from 8 Million B.C.,” The Flash #105 (March, 1959)]

6 million years ago:

Bipedal (upright walking) hominins first appear on Earth.

4.5 million years ago

The Rmoahal, an early advanced form of man, arise in Africa. Eventually they settle on the continent of Atlantis, where they master both science and magic. Some Rmoahal in Atlantis use their mastery of both to physically improve their bodies, transforming themselves from a race of 12-foot-tall humans with mahogany skin to a lizard-like race infused with dinosaur DNA. [The Story of Atlantis by W. Scott-Elliot (1896); “The Freedom of Rmoahal,” Arion, Lord of Atlantis #11 (September, 1983)]

In a parallel universe, Kell, Earth's greatest scientist, makes his advanced Earth into a paradise. Discovering the existence of the multiverse, Kell determines to learn the origin of the universe. Ignoring the warnings that the universe will be destroyed if they learn their origins, Kell goes ahead with his experiment despite the protests of his former assistant Sondra and the Council. Forming an antimatter chamber, Kell enters it and watches the beginning of time replayed before his eyes. However, Kell inadvertently awakens the Anti-Monitor, who begins an antimatter chain reaction that destroys all life on Kell's Earth and eventually destroys his entire universe. Note: The exact time is never specified, except as “millions of years ago.” [Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

The Anti-Monitor frees himself from his nearly nine-billion-year-long captivity as he gains power with the destruction of Kell's positive-matter universe. Realizing that the death of each positive-matter universe makes him more powerful, he destroys universe after universe with antimatter to expand his power. While at first it takes eons for the Anti-Monitor to destroy a universe, he eventually learns how to destroy universes more quickly as his power grows. [Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

The Monitor also awakens and grants Kell both immortality and the ability to warn other universes before they are destroyed, and Kell becomes known as Pariah. The Monitor also creates a satellite-like ship in which he could travel the multiverse, fighting the Anti-Monitor wherever he could, but the Monitor becomes weaker with each loss of a positive-matter universe, forcing him to seek out champions across the multiverse to fight for him. [Crisis on Infinite Earths #7]

4 million years ago:

North and South America join at Panama.

3.9 million years ago:

Australopithecus man appears in Africa.

3 million years ago:

The Arctic ice cap forms on Earth.

2.6 million years ago:

The Rmoahal abandon their settlements on the continent of Atlantis due to the beginning of the Quaternary ice age and soon die out due to a weakness against cold drawn from their infused dinosaur DNA. [“The Freedom of Rmoahal,” Arion, Lord of Atlantis #11 (September, 1983)]

2 million years ago:

The Stone Age begins on Earth.

1.7 million years ago:

Homo erectus man moves out of Africa.

1.04 million years ago

On Krypton, where science was just beginning to mature, a nuclear disaster wrecks a whole town and kills thousands, prompting the government to forbid all scientific research. As a result of outlawing science, civilization on Krypton is stunted for many thousands of years. [“The War Between Krypton and Earth,” Adventure Comics #333 (June, 1965)]

On Earth, during a time when the sun is red (possibly because of a cloud of space gas altering the sun's rays), a group of colonists from the star system of Vruun led by Jhor Lal establish a colony that they call Atlantis, fleeing from the cruel tyrants who rule their world. A few members of the Legion of Super-Heroes (Brainiac 5, Star Boy, Chameleon Boy, Light Lass, and Phantom Girl) arrive via time travel from the 30th century A.D. and help them complete the city of Atlantis, the first human city on Earth. Note: This date is never firmly established except as “millions of years ago,” but the the date can be established as one million years before 43,000 BC, since Atlantis has been in existence for one million years by then. It's likely that the Earth's sun was artificially turned red for a time, possibly by the space gas that killed off the Xan, since scientific data suggests that by this time the Earth's sun was nearly as bright as it is today, and was definitely the same hue. [“The War Between Krypton and Earth,” Adventure Comics #333 (June, 1965)]

On Krypton, a scientist named Zat-El, hiding in the Jewel Mountains along with a small number of Kryptonians who practice science, which is at this time outlawed, builds a space ark. A few members of the Legion of Super-Heroes (Superboy, Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, Element Lad, and Colossal Boy), arrive from the 30th century and assist the construction of the space ark. The Kryptonians, accompanied by the Legionnaires from the future, leave Krypton with supplies and a group of giant, dinosaur-like reptiles. They arrive on prehistoric Earth and establish a colony on what is now Western North America. Having believed that Earth was uninhabited by any intelligent species, they are surprised to discover that a colony from Vruun has already been established as Atlantis. [“The War Between Krypton and Earth,” Adventure Comics #333 (June, 1965)]

War is soon declared between the Atlanteans and the Kryptonians, with each group of Legionnaires taking opposing sides in what is intended to be a bloodless war, until a few Kryptonians are accidentally killed by Atlanteans. Meanwhile, Brainiac 5 discovers that the element xenon in Earth's atmosphere is poisonous to the Atlanteans and will kill them all in time, but if the Atlanteans are genetically modified to become water-breathers and live beneath the ocean, they can be saved. Mon-El arrives from the 30th century in time to stop an atomic missile launched by the Kryptonian colony from destroying Atlantis. The Legionnaires end the war between the Kryptonians and the Atlanteans by genetically modifying the Atlanteans into the original mer-folk (half-human, half-fish), then sinking the city of Atlantis into the ocean. [“The War Between Krypton and Earth,” Adventure Comics #333 (June, 1965)]

After the Legionnaires return to the 30th century, the Kryptonian colony dies out after their tame dinosaurs become wild and attack them. However, a few Kryptonian survivors intermarry with the Vruunian colonists, producing stronger children able to breathe the atmosphere without any trouble. These first true Atlanteans, the descendants of the Vruunians and Kryptonians, use technology to build a new city of Atlantis over the ruins of the Rmoahal settlements. Jhor Lal and his daughter Leta Lal also become the direct ancestors of Lori Lemaris. Note: Since Atlantis is known to have remained above the waves until at least 43,000 BC, it's likely that the Vruunian colonists managed to find a way to raise their city once more, and breeding with the Kryptonians may also have made them strong enough to live in the atmosphere. It is likely that the Kryptonian genetics mixed in with that of humans results in the metagene that grants super-powers to their human descendants in centuries to come. [“The War Between Krypton and Earth,” Adventure Comics #333 (June, 1965); “The Freedom of Rmoahal,” Arion, Lord of Atlantis #11 (September, 1983)]

700,000 years ago:

Human and Neanderthal men start to genetically diverge.

Anthro, the first modern human, has adventures as a teenager in a prehistoric era.

Kong the Untamed has adventures as a teenager in a prehistoric era.

Time traveling from 1977 AD, Superman is stranded for some days during a relatively brief period when the sun is red, and he consequently has no super-powers. After being mistaken for a god but showing weakness, he is attacked by a strong caveman named Guarr (who looks like Abraham Lincoln) and is beaten by him. A cave-girl named Virra nurses Superman back to health, and Superman later finds water for her tribe and helps them overcome Guarr and his tribe. Superman is rescued by Superman Robot K-31, who accidentally leaves behind his Superman costume when he changes into Clark Kent's clothing before returning to the present. Guarr adopts Superman's costume as his own and much later dies in a cave while wearing it. Over the next 700,000 years the costume is preserved almost perfectly. Note: The fact that Superman's costume suffers no wear or tear indicates that this red sun period doesn't last much longer, and is probably the last time a cloud of space gas caused the sun to become red for some years. [“The Secret of the Stone-Age Superman,” Action Comics #350 (May, 1967)]

650,000 years ago:

Atlas discovers his origins, then constructs the City of the Golden Gate, founding the Atlantean Empire as King Atlas alongside his wife, Queen Lana. [Showcase: Whatever Happened to Atlas?]

Thousands of Atlanteans leave Earth to colonize the stars, using magic to power huge colony ships, sending messages back to Earth regularly at first for a few centuries, and then sporadically, before being thought dead. Eventually, they evolve into truly alien beings and forget they ever came from earth. [ARION SPECIAL]

370,000 years ago:

Humans and Neanderthals are now fully separate species.

230,000 years ago:

Neanderthal man spreads through Europe.

195,000 years ago:

Homo sapiens first appears on Earth.

145,000 years ago:

In ancient Atlantis, Ahri'ahn is born the son of two sorcerers, Calculha, follower of the Light, and Majistra, mistress of the dark. He is raised by his father in Atlantis while his brother Garn was raised by their mother in Mu. Both are initiated in the mysteries of sorcery. [ARION #6]

After the First Convocation of the 12 Mages of the Empire rejects Majistra's suggestion that they should unearth the magical Zodiac Crystals buried beneath each city, she tries to draw upon their power to become a goddess, uprooting the Zodiac Crystals and causing a cataclysm that slightly tilts the world on its axis and nearly destroys the 12 cities of Atlantis around the world. Young Ahri'ahn sacrifices himself at his father's behest to stop Majistra, causing her body to be destroyed, then returns the Zodiac Crystals back to the 12 cities. Garn is left as a deathly white albino. Calculha is forced to exile his own energy charged body to the Darkworld along with Majistra's spirit. Ahri'ahn's body, turned into a ball of energy, is sent into the heart of a star by Calculha. Garn grows up to replace Majistra as Mu's sorcerer. [ARION #4]).

110,000 years ago:

The Würm/Wisconsin glacial period begins on Earth, foretold by the Atlantean sorcerers as a result of the Zodiac Crystals being weakened by Majistra's attempt to use them to obtain godhood. [ARION #4]

74,000 years ago:

The Toba volcanic eruption releases a large volume of sulfur dioxide on Earth, reducing the Homo sapiens population to about 10,000 people.

70,000 years ago:

Glaciers cover Northern North America.

Circa 53,000 BC:

The Darkling Prince Kr'Rth is defeated by the mage Tynan and cast into eternal slumber for 10,000 years. [ARION #26-27]

Circa 43,000 BC

The events of Arion, Lord of Atlantis:

Ahri'ahn's spirit is tutored by the goddess Jheryl within a part of the Darkworld known as the Negative Gem. While 100,000 years pass in the real world, less than two decades pass for the young man.

Calculha, vowing to save Atlantis from the Second Ice Age, uses his magic to bring Ahri'ahn's spirit back to Earth within a falling star that is really a ruby gemstone. The gem is found by Wyynde, who is guided by Calculha's voice to place it on the Pyramid of Prime Mages. Ahri'ahn is reborn as Arion without full memory of his past or his time in the Darkworld. [ARION #4-5]

Befriended by Wyynde (later Lt. Wyynde) and Lt. (Lady) Chian (later Capt. Chian), Arion becomes High Mage of Atlantis and receives guidance from Calculha's astral form. He vows to prevent the Ice Age. Garn Daanuth in the now-empty city of Mu becomes aware of Arion's return as well and takes action. [ARION #5]

Calculha guides Arion to go on a quest for answers to stopping the impending Ice Age, only to fall into a deathlike coma himself. Arion battles free of a cosmic being called the Sun-Sphere who mistakenly thinks he is her son because of his link to the star-gem that brought him to Earth. [WARLORD #55-62].

Garn Daanuth takes over King D'Tilluh's son M'Zalle of Thamuz and sends the Dragon Riders against the City of the Golden Gate. Arion and his allies meet Mara, a teenage shapeshifter from Thamuz whose family is killed by Garn. Arion and Garn learn they are brothers. Garn kills Calculha, who leaves some of his magical essence within a crystal globe Arion shattered in order to defeat Garn. Arion traps Garn's soul in his own body. [ARION #1-8]

Arion averts the Ice Age with help from the seductive Icestarr whose magical siphoning of the sun contributed to the problem. She gives her life when Arion's example shows her the meaning of love. Arion is left with only a fraction of his original power. [ARION #9-10]

After the death of his father Sh'Roco, Wyynde reluctantly returns to Khewannan-tu to become the new “chief” or Dhonu. With arion's help he defeats the evil shaman Wintermoon.[ARION #13]

Chaon poses as Priest Trykhun in order to trick Arion into ending all existence during their battle beneath the deserted city of Mu. Arion traps him within the Flame of Hjerta. [ARION #14-15]

Arion meets a tribe of mutated animal-men and their leader Bylgor the lionman. These victims of experiments by an unknown Technician, who hides within Atlantis, free Arion when he shows them mercy. [ARION #16]

Wyynde takes a tribal bride named Fawndancer shortly before Garn escapes from within Arion and destroys Wyynde's homeland with a massive tidal wave. Arion manages to draw upon help from the goddess Deedra to turn Garn into solid gold! Wyynde rejoins Arion on his travels. [ARION #17-19]

Arion and company sail the seas with Captain Bloodmore of the Black Unicorn as Arion draws upon the ship's energy crystal to drive off the angry sea god Altana. Wyynde learns that his tribal bride Fawndancer was turned into a mermaid by Garn's magical attack on their homeland. [ARION #20-22]

Garn returns to normal and uses his magic to turn all of Atlantis against Arion before trying to trap him in Darkworld. Arion escapes from the other dimensional realm and buries Garn within the magical place! [ARION #23-25]

Arion defeats the evil Darkling Prince Kr'Rth and his mortal servant the Abbess of Kr'Rth and attempts to gain new magic from the Weaver. Meanwhile, Lady Chian saves a young girl named Lyla from the harsh tribal laws of her father the Huntsman then learns of Arion's return to Atlantis. [ARION #26-28]

Arion and company journey to Chian's homeland of Hoshan where he is tricked by Chian's old lover Tomokata into allowing Dark Majistra to gain his ruby gemstone. He learns the full details of his past within the Negative Gem and shatters Majistra's spirit form after the goddess Jehryl persuades the Weaver into restoring Arion's original lost powers! Arion restores Wyynde's body to human form but does nothing for his altered mind, which is still animalistic. King D'Tilluh kills himself and Wyynde who had been turned into an animal man is restored bodily. [ARION #30-33]

Arion's first Convocation of Mages is interrupted when one of the guests Rhajeem reveals that he has turned evil and tries to take over the city. Arion allows one of the evil wizard's monsters to carry him off into another dimension. [ARION #34-35]

The new King M'zalle is killed when ancient Atlanteans return from space after eons away from Earth. They are defeated when one of their own Esok turns against them and Arion battles the evil Chaon. Chaon's body is temporarily destroyed by Arion but it is too late to prevent him from sinking the City of the Golden Gate. Arion leads the survivors to find a new home. M'zalle's sister T'Galla becomes Queen of the Empire. [ARION SPECIAL]

Circa 38,000 B.C.:

Cro-Magnon man appears in Europe.

Three proto-Green Lanterns chase a criminal named Jinn to Earth, where an accident with a power battery and a stun-ray places all four in suspended animation for 40,000 years. Note: Since these proto-Green Lanterns knew they were predecessors of the Green Lantern Corps, they must have known of the creation of the Green Lanterns around this time, making them among the last of the proto-Green Lanterns. [“Those Who Worship Evil's Might,” Green Lantern v2 #90 (August-September, 1976)]

The Oans create the power ring and power battery and equip their agents, officially creating the modern Green Lantern Corps.

Rori Dag of the planet Rojira becomes the first Green Lantern. Presumably many of the proto-Green Lanterns are also given power rings and invited to join the new Green Lantern Corps shortly afterward. [“The First Green Lantern,” Green Lantern v2 #67 (March, 1969)]

Circa 26,000 B.C.:

Neanderthals disappear on Earth.

Circa 20,000 B.C.:

A group of Atlanteans flee Earth to colonize the stars, leaving behind artifacts on the planet Tharrl. [Action Comics #299]

Circa 13,000 B.C.:

Human migration to America begins via the Bering land bridge between Alaska and Siberia.

11,848 B.C.:

On Krypton, its modern-day civilization begins, though Krypton has had at least one earlier previous ancient civilization that had long collapsed by this time. The first year of the Kryptonian calendar is celebrated. Note: 1952 AD is the Earth equivalent of the Kryptonian year 10,000, with 18 Kryptonian years equivalent to 25 Earth years.

Circa 9,900 B.C.:

The Würm/Wisconsin glacial period ends.

Circa 9,400 B.C.:

The Holocene Epoch begins on Earth, heralding the development of agriculture and the domestication of animals.

Circa 9,000 B.C.:

The would-be dictator Roh-Tul activates a bomb that causes Atlantis to begin sinking into the sea, but the citizens of Tritonis and Poseidonis each have enough time to save themselves by erecting air-filled domes over their cities to keep them alive as their cities sink beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Sometime later, they change themselves into water-breathers. [“The Girl Who Destroyed Atlantis,” Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #42 (July, 1963)]

Nar Lemaris, a scientist of Tritonis, uses a serum co-developed by a mermaid (one of the last survivors of the ancient Atlanteans from Vruun, who is the direct descendant of Jhor Lal and his daughter Leta Lal) to change the Tritonians into water-breathing mer-people, allowing Tritonis to knock down the air bubble over their city. Now a merman himself, Lemaris weds this mermaid, and their direct descendant in the 20th century is Lori Lemaris. Note: Although they aren't mentioned in this story, the ancient Atlanteans of Vruun, who colonized Earth 68 million years ago and became mer-folk (see Adventure Comics #333), are likely the ones who influenced the Tritonians to become mer-people, so that the original Atlantean mer-folk can breed with them and thus save their dying species. [“Supergirl's First Romance,” Action Comics #269 (October, 1960)]

Circa 7,000 B.C.:

Humans begin smelting metal on Earth.

Circa 5,000 B.C.:

Nommo, the future Doctor Mist, is the ruler of the empire of Kor in Africa. Nommo is the guardian of the Flame of Life and gains incredible power from it, but the power terrifies him, and he ceases to use it, preferring to act through agents.

Circa 3,500 B.C.:

Humans invent the wheel on Earth.

Bronze Age

Circa 3,300 B.C.:

The Bronze Age begins on Earth.

Circa 3,000 B.C.:

Humans develop writing on Earth.

Circa 2,500 B.C.:

The Pyramids of Giza are built.

Circa 1,470 B.C.:

The volcanic island of Santorini in the Mediterranean Sea erupts, destroying an island and ending a civilization.

1,440 B.C.:

Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt.

Circa 1,400 B.C.:

The Israelites conquer the land of Canaan and form the land of Israel.

Iron Age

Circa 1,300 B.C.:

The Greek goddesses create the all-female race of Amazons led by Queen Hippolyta.

Lois Lane time travels from 1977 AD to ancient Greece during the fabled Golden Age (where disease and hardship is unknown) and meets a young man named Epimetheus, with whom she is accidentally betrothed, and whose younger brother is Prometheus. After Lois opens up a box and fatefully releases disease-ridden flies, heralding the end of the Golden Age, she discovers she would have been named Pandora had she been married to Epimetheus. Superman returns her to the present. [“The Snoopiest Girl in History,” Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #56 (April, 1965)]

The Iron Age begins on Earth.

Artemis, greatest warrior of the Amazons, becomes the Amazon champion known as Wonder Woman. She is later corrupted by men and abandons the Amazons.

Hercules, the greatest hero of the age, performs his Twelve Labors.

Manipulated by both the goddess Hera and Mars the god of war, Hercules tricks Queen Hippolyta into giving him her Magic Girdle to complete his Ninth Labor, then enslaves the Amazons. Receiving help from Aphrodite and Athena, the Amazons free themselves from captivity, then steal ships to sail off to a new land chosen for them by their patron goddesses.

A group of Amazons remains behind, refusing to follow Queen Hippolyta. Their 20th century descendants are the Amazons of South America led by Queen Atalanta.

After several months of sailing, the Amazons reach Paradise Island, where they are made immortal as long as they remain on the island.

13th century B.C.

Circa 1,250 B.C.:

The Trojan War begins when a confederation of Greek kings attacks the city of Troy.

12th century B.C.

Circa 1,100 B.C.:

The Outsiders are summoned back in time to defeat and cure a mentally controlled Metamorpho before he kills Rameses. [BATO #17-18]

11th century B.C.

Circa 1,000 B.C.:

During a conference of gods and heroes at Mt. Olympus, Zeus has the Oracle of Delphi unveil the far future age of the 20th century, when the Temple of Zeus is abandoned and in ruins, while the hero Superman is honored by the world, so Zeus decides to deal with that future upstart. Prometheus creates a champion out of clay, and six gods – Zeus, Hercules, Apollo, Vulcan, Achilles, and Mercury – bestow their powers on the clay champion, who comes to life and is named Zha-Vam. After Prometheus grants Zha-Vam a belt bestowing upon him the powers of several other gods, Zeus makes Zha-Vam swear to uphold the honor and glory of Olympus, and to destroy Superman so that the Olympians will reign supreme once more. Pluto opens up a passage into the underworld, where Zha-Vam crosses the river Styx and passes through Erebus, the realm of eternal darkness, to reach the future year of 1977 A.D., where he battles Superman. A time-traveling Superman from that era witnesses the birth of Zha-Vam and visits the Oracle himself to find out how to defeat Zha-Vam. Superman visits Neptune, who recently quarreled with Zeus, and is given a belt imbued with the powers of several gods. Superman finally defeats Zha-Vam in 1977 through his literal Achilles' heel, then brings him back to this time, where Zeus concedes defeat and has Prometheus revert Zha-Vam into the clay from which he was formed. [“The Battle of the Gods,” Action Comics #353 (August, 1967)]

A centaur named Biron falls in love with the sorceress Circe. After he saves her life from an evil man named Maldor, she promises to grant him his wish to be human. But Maldor switches the potions that Circe creates, and Biron drinks an irreversible potion that instead changes him into a horse. Out of love, Circe grants Biron the horse the powers of the gods (the might of Jove, the speed of Mercury, the wisdom of Athena, and the telepathic powers of Neptune) as well as immortality. But when Maldor realizes his revenge has been thwarted, he uses magic to exile Biron to an asteroid in the constellation Sagittarius, where Biron remains for 3,000 years. Note: It's possible that Circe got the idea and permission to grant Biron the powers of the gods shortly after Zha-Vam was created and destroyed. [“The Secret Origin of Supergirl's Super-Horse,” Action Comics #293 (October, 1962).]

10th century B.C.

971 B.C.:

King Solomon begins his reign in Israel. He builds the original Temple.

6th century B.C.

586 B.C.:

Babylon captures Jerusalem and destroys Solomon's Temple.

536 B.C.:

The Jews begin rebuilding the Temple in Israel.

509 B.C.:

Romans exile King Tarquinius Superbus and establish a republic.

5th century B.C.

460 B.C.:

Athens becomes a democracy.

4th century B.C.

399 B.C.:

Socrates dies after ingesting hemlock.

347 B.C.:

The philosopher Plato writes about Atlantis, having learned of the lost land through Solon.

323 B.C.:

Alexander the Great dies suddenly after creating a vast empire.

3rd century B.C.

287 B.C.:

Archimedes of Syracuse is born, becoming the greatest mathematician of antiquity.

Circa 230 B.C.:

Shi Huangdi, the First Emperor of China, standardizes writing and units of measure across his lands.

1st century B.C.

49 B.C.:

Julius Caesar begins a Roman civil war.

Circa 30 B.C.:

The human race with magical abilities, later referred to as the Homo Magi, found the Hidden Land in Turkey in an attempt to keep the bloodlines pure. The Homo Magi people, plagued with a nearly uncontrollable desire to marry Homo Sapiens, have grown smaller as their magical abilities have been diluted over centuries of breeding with outsiders. [JLA #165]

Circa 4 B.C.:

Jesus is born in Bethlehem.

1st century

30 A.D.:

Upon the death of Jesus Christ, the Christian Church is founded in Israel.

55 A.D.:

Marcus becomes known as the Golden Gladiator.

4th century

313 A.D.:

After Christians have been persecuted for years in the Roman Empire, Constantine and Licinius, co-emperors of the Roman Empire, recognize Christianity and extend tolerance to its followers.

6th century

King Arthur establishes his kingdom at Camelot in Britain, founding the Knights of the Round Table to protect his realm.

Several of the Round Table knights briefly gain magical artifacts and enchantments that grant them super-powers for a time. King Arthur possesses the magical sword Excalibur, Sir Lancelot gains invulnerable armor, Sir Gawain has a belt granting him great strength from dawn to noon, Sir Bohart has magic boots giving him boundless speed, Sir Kay wears a cloak of invisibility and is able to grow to the size of a giant, Sir Bors possesses a ring of fire formed from a dragon's tooth that can emit flames once every day, and Sir Galahad has a magic spear that unerringly hits its target. Note: It is likely that, sometime later, most of the artifacts are lost, or the enchantments fade, depriving the knights of their super-powers. [“Pawns of the Jousting Master,” World's Finest Comics #162 (November, 1966)]

Merlin the magician brings Superman and Batman from the year 1977 to this time to aid King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table to retake Camelot from a group of shape-changing aliens impersonating them, and they officially become Knights of the Round Table as Sir Superman and Sir Batman before returning to their own time. Note: The unnamed shape-changing aliens may be Durlans, who are known to have interfered on Earth in the past, or possibly even Martians. [“Pawns of the Jousting Master,” World's Finest Comics #162 (November, 1966)]

Brian Kent becomes the Silent Knight in a nearby kingdom.

At the fall of Camelot, the wizard Merlin bonds his demon Etrigan to a man named Jason Blood, condemning him to immortality.

7th century

Circa 610 A.D.:

The prophet Mohammed begins the religion of Islam.

9th century

800 A.D.:

King Charlemagne rules the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe.

10th century

Batman, and Robin travel back in time (via Dr. Carter Nichols' time-ray) from 1973 to ancient Baghdad, where they meet Aladdin, who bought a lamp that supposedly had a genii in it. Superman, traveling back to help them, acts as the lamp's genii. [“The Three Magicians of Bagdad,” World's Finest Comics #79]

Prince Jon becomes known as the Viking Prince.

11th century

1066:

William the Conqueror invades England.

12th century

Robin Hood and his Merry Men, based in Sherwood Forest near Nottingham, England, fight against the tyrannical King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Superman time travels from 1972 and pretends to marry an English girl named Aldine as part of a ploy to help villagers overthrow a tyrannical duke. [“Superman's Sweetheart,” Superman #92]

13th century

1212:

The Children's Crusade to Jerusalem ends horribly when most die on the journey, and the rest are sold into slavery.

14th century

The sorceress Lediv, along with King Rantyr and King Goz from unnamed kingdoms, unite to vanquish many nations using the kings' armies and her magic. The old sorceress Liada captures the three through an enchantment spell, imprisoning everyone in the room within a jeweled chess set, where they remain until the chess set is discovered by Prof. Lewis Lang in 1978. Note: The era from which Lediv, Rantyr, and Goz come is never named, but it is evidently the Middle Ages and probably shortly before the Black Death ravaged Europe. [“Checkmate for Lois,” Superman's Girl Friend Lois Lane #79 (November, 1967)]

Circa 1345:

Aztecs found the great capital city of Tenochtitlan.

1347:

The Black Death reaches Constantinople.

15th century

1453:

Constantinople falls to the Ottaman Turks, ending the Byzantine Empire and beginning the Ottoman Empire.

Circa 1455:

The Gutenberg Bible, the first mass-produced book, is published.

1492:

Christopher Columbus discovers America.

1498:

Vasco da Gama establishes the first European sea route to Asia.

16th century

1517:

Martin Luther begins the Protestant Reformation.

1543:

Copernicus publishes his theory that the sun is at the center of the universe, instead of the Earth.

1588:

The English fleet defeats the Spanish Armada.

17th century

1642

A time-traveling Superman from 1978 becomes the model for one of the guards in Rembrandt Van Rijn's famous painting, The Night Watch. [“You, Too, Can Be a Super-Artist,” Superman #211 (November, 1968)]

1645:

The Paladins are displaced in time from 1987 to the Battle of Naseby. [Cavaliers and Roundheads: book 1]

1649:

King Charles I of England is executed by the Puritans.

1661:

May 27: Metropolis is founded. Note: The founding of Metropolis supposedly happens in 1661, 300 years before the date of this story, which was published in 1961 but which takes place in 1975. This date may conflict with other supposed founding years for Metropolis, but it's possible that every date means something and are only apparently contradictory. It's possible that this was the year that Metropolis was settled, but it wasn't until 1702 that Metropolis was incorporated as a city. [“The Dream Detective,” Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen #51 (March, 1961).]

18th century

1702:

Metropolis is founded. Note: Since this date conflicts with other dates of Metropolis' founding, it's possible that this was the date that Metropolis the town was incorporated as a city. [SUPERBOY #47]

1739:

The Atom enters the Time Pool to help Lady Jane de la Mare capture a notorious highwayman Dick Turpin. [THE ATOM #6]

1770:

A time-traveling Superman from 1978, turned into a blue-skinned boy by a strange effect of Halley's Comet in 1759, becomes the model for Thomas Gainsborough's famous painting, The Blue Boy. [“You, Too, Can Be a Super-Artist,” Superman #211 (November, 1968)]

1776:

Tom Hawk becomes known as Tomahawk. Fighting the British during the Revolutionary War, Tomahawk becomes the leader of a group of volunteers known as Tomahawk's Rangers.

1783:

The Atom uses the Time Pool to go to American to help the Montgolfier brothers makes the first successful hot-air baloon flight using animals. [THE ATOM #27]

1789:

The French Revolution begins.

1790:

Victor Frankenstein creates the monster known as the Frankenstein Monster or the Spawn of Frankenstein, which eventually names itself Adam Frankenstein. [Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818 novel by Mary Shelley); Phantom Stranger v2 #23]